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What are Followers vs Subscribers?

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Definition​

Followers and Subscribers are people who regularly receive someone's content on social media and online platforms. Simply put, they become 'fans' of a person or channel they like and automatically receive their new posts or videos. Think of it like subscribing to a newspaper. Just as a newspaper is delivered to your doorstep every morning when you subscribe, when you follow or subscribe to someone, their new content automatically appears in your feed.

While these two terms seem similar, they differ in the platforms where they're used and in their interaction methods. 'Follower' is primarily used on social media like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. It has the meaning of 'following' someone, like watching their daily life and activities. 'Subscriber' is mainly used on YouTube, blogs, newsletters, etc., with a stronger meaning of 'regularly subscribing' to a specific channel or content.

The essence of these two systems is 'connection'. Hundreds of millions of content pieces are uploaded to the internet every day, and to see only what interests you, you need to follow or subscribe. Just like selecting only the channels you want from a broadcaster, through following and subscribing, you can select the content creators you want and receive their latest news without missing anything. This is a way to efficiently receive only the information you want in an era of information overload.

Characteristics​

  • Automatic Updates: When you follow or subscribe, every time that person posts something new, it automatically appears in your feed or subscription list. You can see new content right away without having to visit their profile individually. It's like setting up a recording for your favorite TV program.

  • Asymmetric Relationship: Just because you follow someone doesn't mean they have to follow you back. One-way relationships are possible. If you follow a celebrity, you can see their posts, but they don't have to follow you back. In contrast, Facebook's 'friend' is a two-way relationship.

  • Displayed as Numbers: The number of followers or subscribers is displayed numerically. This number becomes an indicator of that account's popularity and influence. Having 10,000 followers means 10,000 people are interested in that person's content.

  • Notification Options: Besides simply following, if you turn on notifications, you can receive push notifications on your smartphone whenever a new post goes up. This is useful when you absolutely don't want to miss content from your favorite creator.

  • List Management: You can view a list of accounts you follow or subscribe to, and you can unfollow or unsubscribe at any time. You can freely organize content you're no longer interested in or don't want to see anymore.

How to Use​

Let's learn step-by-step how to effectively use following and subscribing.

Step 1: Identify Your Interests First, think about what you're interested in. Among various fields like cooking, travel, exercise, gaming, fashion, and education, organize what content you want to see regularly. Having clear interests helps you choose accounts to follow well.

Step 2: Search for Accounts Use each platform's search function to find accounts in your areas of interest. Utilize hashtag searches, recommended accounts, and popular creator lists. Referring to accounts your friends follow is also a good method.

Step 3: Check the Content Before following or subscribing, check a few of that account's recent posts. Evaluate the quality of content, upload frequency, and appropriateness of content. It's like reading samples before subscribing to a newspaper.

Step 4: Click the Follow/Subscribe Button If you like the account, click the 'Follow' or 'Subscribe' button. Instagram and Twitter have a 'Follow' button, YouTube has a 'Subscribe' button. From the moment you press the button, that account's new posts start appearing in your feed.

Step 5: Set Up Notifications For accounts you particularly like, turn on notifications. On YouTube, click the bell icon next to the subscribe button, and on Instagram, select 'Turn on notifications' from the profile. However, turning on notifications for too many accounts can lead to notification fatigue, so choose only really important accounts.

Step 6: Manage Regularly Review your list of followed accounts once every few months. Unfollow content you no longer watch, accounts where your interests have changed, or accounts that have stopped being active. Keeping your feed clean helps you focus on content you really want to see.

Step 7: Find Balance Following too many accounts makes your feed too busy and you'll actually miss more posts. Follow an appropriate number of accounts to ensure time to properly enjoy each piece of content. Don't pursue quantity over quality.

Step 8: Interact Don't just watch, press like, leave comments, and communicate with creators. This interaction is a great encouragement to creators and motivates them to create better content. It also makes the algorithm recommend more similar content to you.

Examples​

Instagram Followers Ji-eun, who is very interested in cooking, followed the popular cooking influencer @cookinghome. Now, whenever @cookinghome posts a new recipe photo, it automatically appears in Ji-eun's Instagram feed. Ji-eun became one of the followers, and @cookinghome's profile shows '520,000 followers'. Just because Ji-eun follows doesn't mean @cookinghome needs to follow back.

YouTube Subscribers Min-jun, a high school student, discovered the channel 'Easy Math' that helps with math studies. He visited the channel and clicked the red 'Subscribe' button. Now Min-jun became a subscriber to this channel, and whenever a new video is uploaded, he can see it on the YouTube home screen and subscription tab. He also pressed the notification bell icon and set it to 'All', so he gets push notifications on his smartphone when new videos are uploaded.

Twitter Followers Hye-jin, interested in tech news, followed the famous IT journalist @technews_korea. Every time this journalist posts a tweet, it appears in Hye-jin's timeline, allowing her to know the latest tech trends in real-time. This journalist is a popular account with 150,000 followers.

TikTok Followers Seo-jun, who loves dance, discovered the creator @dancequeen who posts amazing dance videos. He visited the profile and pressed the 'Following' button, and the button changed to 'Following'. Now @dancequeen's new videos appear in Seo-jun's 'Following' feed and are prioritized in the 'For You' feed.

Blog Subscribers Ju-hee, who was looking for parenting information, discovered a useful parenting blog. She clicked the 'Subscribe' button at the top of the blog and entered her email address. Now, whenever a new post is uploaded to this blog, Ju-hee gets an email notification. She can see new posts without missing them without having to visit the blog individually.

Pros and Cons​

Pros​

  • Content Curation: You can selectively view only content in areas you're interested in. There's too much information on the internet, but through following and subscribing, you can filter out only the information you need. It's like creating a personalized magazine.

  • Time Saving: Without having to visit your favorite creators' profiles individually, you can see all the latest content at once in your feed. It's efficient as you can check everything in one place without going around multiple sites.

  • New Discoveries: The algorithm recommends other accounts similar to the accounts you follow. Through this, you can discover new creators or content. It naturally expands into a network of people with matching tastes.

  • Community Formation: People who follow the same account have similar interests. Through comments or community features, you can connect with people who have the same interests.

  • Creator Support: Following and subscribing is great encouragement for creators. Follower and subscriber counts are growth indicators for creators, and sponsors and advertisers also look at these numbers to decide on collaborations. It's a simple way to support creators you like.

Cons​

  • Information Bias: Seeing only the opinions and information of accounts you follow creates a 'filter bubble' phenomenon. It becomes difficult to encounter diverse perspectives, and you can develop biased views by seeing only opinions similar to yours. It's important to consciously follow accounts with diverse perspectives.

  • Information Overload: Following too many accounts can overflow your feed and you might actually miss important content. If hundreds of new posts go up daily, it's impossible to check them all. It's important to maintain an appropriate number of follows.

  • Time Waste: Infinite scrolling through feeds can make time fly by. You often intend to look for just 5 minutes but an hour passes. It can lead to social media addiction, so self-management is necessary.

  • Algorithm Dependency: Not all posts from accounts you follow appear in your feed. The platform's algorithm only shows posts it 'judges to be important'. You might miss posts from your favorite creators, so you need to turn on notifications or visit profiles directly.

  • Comparison Psychology: Seeing the wonderful lives of people you follow makes you compare yourself. Especially seeing the seemingly perfect lives of influencers can make you feel depressed or inferior. You need to remember that social media only shows part of reality.

FAQ​

Q: What's the exact difference between followers and subscribers? A: Functionally they're almost the same, but the platforms where they're used and their nuances differ. 'Followers' are mainly used on social media like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, while 'subscribers' are used on YouTube, blogs, newsletters, etc. Followers have a stronger feeling of 'following', while subscribers have a feeling of 'regular subscription'. But the essence is the same - regularly receiving someone's content.

Q: Does having many followers really mean having influence? A: Generally yes, but not always. There are many fake followers bought with money. Real influence is measured by 'engagement'. If you have 10,000 followers but only 10 likes per post, most are either fake followers or inactive accounts. If you have 1,000 followers but get 100 likes and comments on each post, you have much higher influence.

Q: Does the other person know when you unfollow them? A: The platform itself doesn't send unfollow notifications. However, if the other person frequently checks their follower count or uses a separate unfollow tracking app, they can find out. Unfollowing a close friend can make the relationship awkward, so using the 'mute' function instead is an option. Muting keeps the follow but makes them not appear in your feed.

Q: What's the difference between following and adding friends? A: Following is a one-way relationship. Just because you follow someone doesn't mean they have to follow you back. On the other hand, Facebook's 'friend' is a two-way relationship. You send a friend request and the other person must accept for you both to become friends. Instagram and Twitter use a follow system, while Facebook uses a friend system.

Q: How can I increase my followers? A: The most important thing is consistently posting good content. Create content that people find valuable and interesting. Use hashtags well, engage by commenting on other people's posts, and post regularly at consistent times. However, buying fake followers is absolutely not recommended. It's meaningless without real engagement.

Q: How do I follow a private account? A: For private accounts, you need to send a follow request, and the account owner must approve for you to become a follower. Until approved, you cannot see that person's posts. Private account owners can also reject follow requests. This is a feature to protect privacy.

Q: Subscription notifications are too burdensome, what should I do? A: Adjust your notification settings. On YouTube, you can keep the subscription but change notifications to 'None' or 'Personalized'. Turn on 'All' notifications only for really important channels, and keep subscriptions without notifications for the rest. Instagram also allows you to turn off notifications while keeping the follow. This way you can see them in your feed but won't receive push notifications.

Q: I follow too many accounts, is there a way to organize? A: Slowly go through your list of followed accounts and unfollow accounts whose posts you haven't viewed in the last 3 months. Or you can find uninteresting accounts by sorting by 'recent interaction'. Some platforms provide a 'list' feature that lets you categorize followed accounts. For example, dividing them into 'friends', 'cooking', 'news', etc. makes management easier.